Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 640 Clues
The owner of Guming Silver Jewelry is a young man who looks to be only in his thirties.

Upon learning the police's purpose, he explained that he had inherited the family business nine years ago after graduating from university, and that his father had been in charge of the shop more than ten years ago. He immediately expressed his full cooperation in the police's investigation into events that occurred over a decade ago, and promptly called his father, who was fishing somewhere, urging him to return home.

"Officers, please have some water first. My dad is fishing at the old pit outside, it will take him a while to get here."

Gu Jijin poured water for Chen Song and the other two, as well as Sun Chang and the other two women, and then personally accompanied them.

He tried his best to ignore the three police dogs and the cat that had squeezed into the store. Although their presence might affect the store's business, cooperating with the police was definitely more important at the moment.

Faced with Chen Song's subsequent questioning, Gu Jijin answered all his questions frankly and completely. Although he stated that he was still in university more than ten years ago, he also admitted that the silver jewelry fragments in Sun Chang's hands were indeed his own work.

He also jokingly said that he designed the bracelet and the accompanying "lifetime companion" marketing campaign himself when he was still in high school.

His father called to tell him that the silver bracelet was receiving a very good response in the store; the praise and support from customers strengthened his determination to inherit the family business while he was still studying.

When he graduated from university and took over the shop, he discovered that it was all a scheme by his own father to trick him into returning as a silversmith and inheriting the family business. While the accompanying silver jewelry plan sounded promising, the human tendency to tire of the same thing and wear the same bracelet forever, coupled with the pressure from gold crafts on the silver jewelry trend, led to the project's failure within a few years. However, by then he had already begun his apprenticeship in the shop, growing accustomed to and enjoying designing and crafting his own silver jewelry.

“Some of my classmates have become bosses, some have gone to Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, and some have gone abroad to develop their careers; but I’ve returned to my hometown and become a silversmith, spending all my time with the furnace and hammer. I’m afraid I’ll never be able to leave Zhuzhou City in my lifetime!”

Gu Jijin said with a chuckle, his words carrying a hint of disdain, but his smile was genuine.

It's clear that he really loves what he's doing now. The display cases in his shop are filled with many beautiful silver ornaments that he designed and crafted himself, including various antique, modern, and even anime-style pieces.

When Gu Jijin learned that the police had come to find the family of a victim who had been trafficked years ago, he was taken aback.

His expression turned somewhat strange; his lips twitched twice, and he let out two dry laughs.

"Ji Jin, Dad said it will take him about an hour to get there."

A young woman dressed simply, wearing an apron with the words "Gu Ming Silverware" printed on it, came over from the front desk, greeted several police officers, and then stood behind Gu Jijin to accompany him intimately.

"This is my wife, Gu Yue."

Gu Jijin introduced the woman to everyone, and her name and surname made Chen Song and Sun Chang look up in surprise.

"Actually... I was also a victim of human trafficking! But I was brave and lucky back then, so I escaped from the traffickers. Later, my father took me in and even married his only daughter to me. Now I don't really think about those things anymore."

Gu Jijin didn't hide anything, frankly stating that he no longer remembered his former name, his hometown, or who his biological parents were. He added that his adoptive parents treated him very well, and he was already very content with his current life.

"Is it such a coincidence?"

Sun Chang was stunned for a moment, and Lin Ge next to him also looked at Gu Jijin in surprise, realizing that it was no wonder his name sounded a bit old-fashioned.

"Have you never thought about looking for your relatives?"

Li Siyu glanced at Ai Yun, who was looking around at the display case, and then said softly to Gu Jijin, "What if your biological parents haven't given up looking for you? Haven't you thought about reuniting with them? This wouldn't affect your current life or your current family, right?"

"..."

Gu Jijin remained silent for a long time, so much so that his wife looked over with concern.

But in the end, Gu Jijin shook his head and said, "So many years have passed, who knows if they still remember me? And to be honest, we all have our own new lives now, so why bother them? Maybe they had a new child shortly after I disappeared. Why would I suddenly go and affect them? After all, we are all adults, each with our own families. Let's look forward and not think too much about it."

As he spoke, Gu Jijin patted his wife's hand on his shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

No one knew what to say.

"But...don't you miss them?"

Suddenly, Ai Yun's voice rang out from behind. She stared wide-eyed, looking completely bewildered, but what she said startled Gu Jijin.

"..."

Gu Jijin was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "To be honest, there are too many things to think about! Wife, children, this shop, and all sorts of trivial matters in life! There's only so much space left for them, so just ignore it."

"If it were me, I would definitely miss them."

Ai Yun didn't know if she understood or not, she just nodded to herself, and then wandered off to look at the more interesting silver ornaments.

The atmosphere became slightly tense. Li Siyu's lips twitched, and she suddenly regretted bringing up the topic. They were all abducted children, and they all had their own unspeakable stories. Why reopen their wounds in front of so many people?
To be honest, the most hateful thing about human traffickers is that they cause so much harm to the victims and their families, and to the victims' future lives.

The group changed the subject and chatted for a while, even pointing and commenting on the three police dogs that were standing there in a daze. Gu Jijin, who also loved animals, quickly joined in enthusiastically, even taking out a picture of his own dog on his phone to show off.

It's clear that he's living a very good life now. When Gu Jijin mentioned the little boy in the photo holding the big dog, his eyes softened considerably.

More than an hour later, the group finally saw Mr. Gu, the former owner of Guming Silver Jewelry, riding back on an electric scooter with a large fish towing the back.

He went night fishing last night and didn't return until almost noon today. Mr. Gu's passion and energy for fishing are truly admirable. Lin Ge also noticed that he had a very good relationship with his neighbors, accepting compliments as he walked. He was quite proud of his satisfying catch and loudly called them over for drinks later. Upon entering, he immediately wanted to talk to his daughter and prepare the fish, but upon seeing the police officers waiting inside, he quickly regained his composure, apologizing profusely as he hurried over, shaking hands with Chen Song and Sun Chang, and saying he was sorry for taking up so much time.

"We apologize for the suddenness of our arrival and for disturbing your fishing trip."

Chen Song chuckled as he watched Li Siyu bring Ai Yun over. Without wasting any time, he asked directly, "Do you remember this Ms. Ai Yun? Ten years ago, or even earlier, did she come here to buy a bracelet like this? If you remember, could you help me recall who she came with? This is very important, so please take the trouble to think about it carefully."

"It's alright! Cooperating with the police is what we should do."

Boss Gu waved his hand and laughed heartily. He carefully observed Ai Yun, who looked restrained and nervous, and his brows furrowed unconsciously as he looked at her.

He thought about it for a long time, but in the end he could only shake his head helplessly.

Lin Ge could understand; after all, it happened more than ten years ago, and it was understandable that he wouldn't remember. Besides, as a store open to the public, with so many customers every day, who could possibly remember who usually came to buy things?
However, this result still left Lin Ge slightly disappointed.

But then I thought again, since the bracelet had already proven that Ai Yun was connected to Zhuzhou City, either she was from Zhuzhou, or she had relatives or close connections there. In any case, it would just take some effort and time; I could just investigate patiently.

"The surveillance footage from ten years ago is definitely gone, right?"

Chen Song looked at the surveillance camera overhead in the corner of the shop.

“Where would we keep so many? The surveillance memory will automatically clear itself when it’s almost full, about once a month. We’re just a silver jewelry store; we can’t and don’t need to spend money on this kind of thing indefinitely,” Gu Jijin explained to his father.

Seemingly because of the awkwardness just now, he was somewhat reluctant to continue discussing matters related to human trafficking. Since his father had no recollection of it, that was the only option; what good would further prolonging the conversation do?

"Um... could you show me the actual bracelet?"

After pondering for a while, Boss Gu suddenly spoke.

He glanced at his adopted son-in-law, then said seriously, "If it really was something I made myself, then I would definitely have some recollection of it. Each of these handmade custom items will have subtle differences; only by seeing the actual product can I try to recall when I made it. If I can recall the production time, I might be able to make some connections. Moreover, ten years ago, this was just a small workshop. Those who chose to trust me and have custom-made items handcrafted by me instead of going to big stores to choose branded goods should all be people I have some memory of. If I'm lucky enough to remember, that would be a good thing."

"Then it's up to you!"

Sun Chang thanked Boss Gu gratefully, then quickly called Zhang Ke. Those few jerks have been at the Municipal Bureau for so long, and they still haven't come over—they're so slow!
"This is... a police motorcycle?"

As soon as you speak of the devil, two police cars pulled up in front of Gu Ming Silver Jewelry. Zhang Yong and his two companions, along with two police officers from Zhuzhou City who had come to help, got out of the cars and were taken aback when they saw the police sidecar parked next to them.

The two officers from the Zhuzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau naturally knew that these tricycles were the prized possessions of the police dog squadron, and that no one else was allowed to touch them normally. They never expected that all of them would be brought out this time.

Zhang Yong and his two companions hadn't expected the vehicles used by the Zhuzhou police department to be so unique. However, after seeing the three dashing and unruly dogs wearing goggles in the shop, they understood the purpose of the tricycles and couldn't help but shake their heads in resignation.

"You guys came pretty fast!"

Zhang Ke greeted Sun Chang with a smile, then showed the broken silver bracelet, which was in the evidence bag, to Boss Gu.

"let me see……"

Boss Gu took the evidence bag to the workbench, put on a pair of monocles, and examined the evidence bag carefully under the light.

After checking for a while without any clues, he looked up at Zhang Ke and said, "Officer, could I operate it for a bit? It's not easy to tell the difference just by looking at it, but if you use my tools to check it, maybe I can find something."

“Melting it won’t do; it has to be done by a qualified testing agency.”

Zhang Ke quickly shook his head.

Boss Gu smiled dismissively with a professional air, straightening his back as he said, "Hehe... As someone who has dealt with money all my life, I don't get so worked up when I look at something. I just feel that this bracelet seems... a little special, and I'm thinking of taking it out and tapping it to hear the sound. Is that alright? To be honest, I think I should have some recollection of it. If I'm not mistaken, I might actually be able to recall something. Hmm, what a coincidence."

As Boss Gu spoke, he nodded, while Zhang Ke, Zhang Yong, and the others exchanged glances, looking at each other in bewilderment.

In the end, Zhang Yong took the initiative to make the decision, nodding and saying, "If it's just a simple tap, then there's no problem. But Mr. Gu, you need to tell us in detail, just from this tap, you can hear something different?"

"Actually, if it were still the same as before, I wouldn't even need to knock on it; I could tell just by blowing on it!"

Boss Gu smiled proudly, pointing to the evidence bag in his hand, "If I'm not mistaken, this bracelet wasn't made from silver bars in my shop, but from a Yuan Shikai silver dollar melted down. During the Republic of China era, silver dollars had a silver content of 89%, which is the old saying 'Yuan Shikai 89,' meaning one silver dollar weighed 7.2 qian (approximately 3.6 grams), with 89% silver and 11% copper. This is completely different from our current silver bars; the sound, the purity, and the ringing sound are all different. And if it really was melted down from a silver dollar, then I'll have to think about it carefully. Back then, silver dollars were very valuable, and very few people were willing to melt them down. Perhaps it really does have some recollection."

Upon hearing this, everyone was overjoyed.

No one expected that such a mere fragment of a silver bracelet could hold such a secret! This Mr. Gu is quite remarkable; with just a glance, he was able to tell that it was originally a silver coin?

"Truly worthy of being called an old silversmith! His eyesight is sharp, and his skills are remarkable!"

Zhang Yong smiled and clapped.

"It's nothing! I have a successor now, and Ji Jin's skills are even better than mine! The little figures he made in this shop sell better than my old antiques back then! My Gu Ming silver jewelry business is made great by him!"

Boss Gu said with a smile, glancing at Gu Jijin beside him out of the corner of his eye.

After obtaining Zhang Yong's consent, Boss Gu took out a very delicate little hammer from the drawer of the workbench.

It was unclear whether it was made of steel or lead, and it was only slightly longer than a toothpick. Old Master Gu held it between two fingers, as if it were a giant embroidering. He held the broken bracelet fragment in one hand and a small hammer in the other, gently swinging the hammer and tapping the fragment once, then quickly bringing it to his ear to listen. He couldn't make a definitive judgment after just one listen, so he repeated the process three or four more times, tapping different spots each time, before finally stopping.

"It was indeed melted down from silver coins. The bracelet, made of eight or nine tenths silver, was also crafted in my shop. The remaining stamp on it is also from my shop; it contains anti-counterfeiting features that I specially added."

Boss Gu finally gave a definite answer.

"Do you remember who had this bracelet made here with silver coins back then? Boss Gu said that this bracelet wasn't sold for many years, so there must have been very few made with silver coins, right?"

Li Siyu was overjoyed and eagerly asked the question.

Her eagerness made Li Yiduo feel a little sorry for her, so he quietly went over and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Then I'll have to think about it carefully."

Boss Gu hesitated for a moment before nodding, then said to everyone, "How about this? You all stay for lunch today, and I'll take this time to think things through. To be honest, I definitely have some recollection, but so many years have passed, and it's really difficult for my age to recall a clear image or identity. But don't worry, I'm sure I can think of something, and I'll be happy to help you!"

As he spoke, Boss Gu turned to look at Ai Yun, who was squatting on the ground, hugging the police dog and whispering to it. A hint of pity flashed in his eyes.

He remembered when he first met Gu Jijin, the child was just as fearful and confused. He didn't know where he lived or who his parents were. Back then, he even took Gu Jijin to the police station, but unfortunately, he didn't get a clear answer for a long time. Later, unable to bear seeing the child sent to an orphanage, he took it upon himself to adopt him without going through any formalities. Now they are finally a family, a happy ending indeed.

Thinking of his chubby and well-behaved grandson, Mr. Gu smiled warmly. It's just a pity that his grandson is growing up and going to school, so he's often away from home. Feeling lonely, he found himself a hobby.

"Try this fish I caught! It's a real wild silver carp, much fresher than the ones in fish restaurants! Let me tell you, when it comes to eating fish, you have to eat wild fish that you catch yourself; the experience is absolutely different!"

Boss Gu chuckled as he handed each of the women a piece of fish maw. He wanted to have a drink with Zhang Yong and the others, but unfortunately, police officers don't drink alcohol while on duty, which left Boss Gu somewhat disappointed. He kept saying he'd treat them properly next time.

At this time, the two trainers who came with Chen Song had already returned to the kennel, leaving only Chen Song to accompany and serve Mimi.

The two greeted Lingo with smiles, telling him to let them know if he needed any help, and that all the handlers and police dogs in the squad would do their best to serve Mimi.

"This cat...is quite popular!"

Boss Gu looked at Lin Ge with amazement.

(End of this chapter)